We may know that there are four basic stages that human beings pass through when they enter and live in a new culture. This process, which helps us to deal with culture shock(文化冲击), is the way our head and our personality react to(对…做出反应) the strange new things we meet with when we move from one culture to another.
Culture begins with the “honeymoon stage”. This is the time when we first arrive in which everything about the new culture is strange and exciting. We see new things, hear new sounds and language, eat new kinds of food. This stage can last for quite a long time because we feel we are very excited.
Unluckily, the second stage can be more difficult. After we have got used to our new life, we can become very tired and begin to miss our homeland and our family, friends, pets. All the little problems in life seem to be much bigger and more disturbing when you face them in a foreign culture. This time of cultural adjustment(调整) can be very difficult and lead to pulling away from the new culture.
The third stage is called the “adjustment stage”. This is when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the host culture. Your sense of humor usually becomes stronger and you realize that you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor!
The fourth stage can be called “at ease at last”. Now you feel quite comfortable in your new place. You can deal with most problems that you have. You may still have problems with the language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them.
There is a fifth stage of culture shock which many people don’t know about. This is called
“reverse culture shock”. Surprisingly, this happens when you go back to your own culture and find that you have changed and that things there have changed while you have been away. Now you feel a little uncomfortable back home. Life is a struggle!How do you feel during the first stage of culture shock?
A.Lonely and sad. | B.Bored and homesick. |
C.Angry and impatient. | D.Happy and excited. |
How could the third stage be described?
A.Adjustment. | B.Pulling away |
C.Shock. | D.Anger. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.Human beings would pass through four stages when they begin to live in a new culture. |
B.Entering and living in a new culture is challenging(挑战). |
C.It is much fun to live in a new culture. |
D.Life in a new culture is a struggle. |
Chris Jones recently completed a very unusual journey. Our reporter Mary Owen met him at his home in the south of London and be told her all about the trip.
Reporter: What gave you the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant, Chris?
Chris: Well, it all started the idea two years ago when I was planning a trip to India. I visited a photo exhibition of elephants and I realized that the only enjoyable way to make a trip around India was on an elephant.
Reporter: What did you do next?
Chris: I flew to New Delhi and started looking for an elephant, I needed an elephant trained to carry people. I didn’t know anything about elephants, so I asked an expert(专家) for help. He taught me how to ride an elephant. He also helped me find an elephant.
Reporter: How long did it take to find a suitable elephant?
Chris: Not too long. I bought a female elephant called Tara for about 6, 000 dollars.
Reporter: Can you tell me about the journey?
Chris: Tara and I set off from New Delhi a week later. We were going to Sonepur in northern India. There is a big elephant market there and I could sell Tara easily. And what a ride! Elephants can travel at about 6 miles an hour and Sonepur is more than 1, 200 km away. It took us 64 days to complete the journey.
Reporter: Did you have any problems on your journey?
Chris: Yes, a few. But nothing serious. On the third day, Tara hurt her foot. Btu that got better quickly. Also, there was a lot of heavy rain during the first week and we got very wet!
Reporter: What happened when you reached Sonepur?
Chris: My plan was to sell Tara. But I was very fond of her. I couldn’t take her back to Britain and I didn’t want to sell her at the market. I happened to meet some people who wanted an elephant for their national park in southern India. I knew that Tara would be safe with them, so I gave her to them. I was very sad to say goodbye.Chris got the idea to make a trip around India on an elephant from __________.
A.a visit to a zoo |
B.an elephant expert from India |
C.the photos of elephant |
D.an old friend who lived in India |
The elephant expert told Chris __________.
A.when to buy an elephant |
B.how to feed an elephant |
C.where to sell his elephant |
D.how to ride an elephant |
Chris decided to go to Sonepur because __________.
A.it is a very interesting place |
B.he would be able to sell Tara there easily |
C.elephants cannot be sold anywhere else |
D.it would take only a short time to get there |
When Chris arrived at the market in Sonepur, __________.
A.he realized that he did not really want to sell Tara |
B.he visited some shopkeepers |
C.he sold Tara to a national park |
D.he decided to take Tara home with him |
DIY, which means Do It Yourself, is quite popular in UK. Lots of stores and supermarkets sell DIY things. TV programmes show people how to DIY.
English people like DIY. There is a saying in UK----“As Englishman’s home is his castle”. Huge number of people spend their holidays making their homes beautiful “castles”. If there is anything that needs fixing around their homes, such as painting the walls or putting in a new shower, they will do the jobs themselves. They share DIY experience with their friends. More and more people have discovered the joy of DIY. Sometimes people also DIY for saving money. With the economic downturn at present, many people can not afford a big house. They are looking at how they can make their house better without spending a lot of money. It is not surprising that DIY is so popular.
DIY can be difficult. There is a huge market for DIY furniture which people need to get together themselves with a few basic tools. However, people often find it not easy to build a piece of furniture because they can’t understand the instructions. Sometimes the instructions are simple and clear, but the furniture itself is difficult to build. One thing is for sure, though most DIY projects are started with the best intentions. Many of them may not get finished. DIY can also be dangerous. For example, anything electrical should be done by a professional worker. Unluckily, many people don’t care about this warning and put themselves in danger. It is reported that in just one year over 230,000 people were hurt while doing DIY in UK, including 41,000 who fell off ladders.
Therefore , DIY can bring us fun and help us save money, but it is not always as easy as it is thought to be if we bite off more than we can chew. Maybe factories should make products that are easier and safer for us to DIY.How do many English people spend their hoildays to the passage?
A.Making their homes beautiful. |
B.Visiting their friends. |
C.Travelling all over the world |
D.Making a lot of money |
Why do English people like DIY?
A.Many stores sell DIY things. |
B.DIY can bring them fun. |
C.TV programmes teach them to DIY |
D.All DIY projects are easy. |
What can we learn from the passage?
A.DIY is a waste of money. |
B.it is always difficult to DIY. |
C.We should be careful while doing DIY. |
D.It is very safe for us to DIY. |
In the passage, “we bite off more than we can chew” probably means .
A.We can eat everything we like. |
B.We should do something difficult. |
C.We do something that is too difficult. |
D.We eat too much food that is not safe. |
Jack Johnson is one of the most popular singer-song writers in the world.
Jack was born on May 18. 1975 in Hawaii Being the song of a famous surfer. Jack usually has an interest in surfing.Most of his life lessons were learned in the water.At the age of 17, Jack entered the finals of the Pineline Masters—the worlde’s most famous surfing competition.Everyone thought Jack would become a professional surfer like his father.Unluckily .One month later,he had a deadly accident while surfing and was seriously hurt.
Life is like a reaching door.When it closes, it also opens. Jack started to practise playing the guitar and write songs when he was staying in hospital.At first ,his father thought Jack only did it for fun.but soon he was suiprised at the great progress his song had made.
When studying in the university. Jack didn’t stop practising his guitar skills.He played the guitar for school partses.He wrote songs and sang for his teachers and friends.They liked his songs.His first music albam Brushfire Fairytaies came out in 2001.It was a great success.His second album,On and On ,was much like his first.They were filled with sweet,easy-going songs that everybody liked listening to later. Jack had lots of concerts in and out of America.He became popular all over the world.
Jack had five albums by 2010 and more than 15 million copics of them were sold.His music doesn’t fit into any of the popular music styles like pop,rocks R and B or hip-hop.It is more like folk music, played with a guitar and beautiful voice.When listening to his songs,you feel like lying on the beach enjoying the warm sunfine.
Jack is a talent,though he himself says he is only a surfer who loves music. In his songs we can find his secret of success.Whatever happens in our lives,we have to accept it and do the best we can.At the age of 17, Jack__.
A.had his first music album |
B.took part in a surfing compentition |
C.had his first concert |
D.became popular all over the world |
Jack started to write songs__.
A.while he was staying in hospital |
B.when he had concerts out of America |
C.after his seccond album came out |
D.after he played the guitar at the school party |
What is the seccet or Jack’s success?
A.He was born in Hawaii |
B.His father was very famous |
C.He wrote many songs for his teachers and friends |
D.He always faced difficulties bravely and tried his best. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
A.A Famous Writer | B.Surfing in the Sea |
C.A Guitar Player | D.Surfing in the Music |
There are about 80.000.000 mines under the ground in more than 60 countries. It is difficult and dangerous to clear these mines.About 50 people including many children were killed or hurt each day.In 2003,APOPO,a Duch research company that trains the animals,came up with the idea of using rats to search for the mines.
The animal trainers found that a kind of rats from Africa were clever and had a sharp sense of smell.The rats were about 75 cm long and weighted about 1.35 kg.light enough to run across a minefield without setting off the mines.
In January 2004,the APOPO startec this preject.First ,the trainers let the 4-week-old baby rats get familier with humans. A few weeks later,the rats were no longer afraid of people and the things around them.Then they were trained to connect a click sound with food.After the rats had learned that ,the trainers then taught them to tell the different between the smell of mines and other smells.When the rats could do it,the click was sounded and they were given a bit of bananas.The method was called clicker training.“The training isn’t easy.”said the trainer Adulish Mebomvu.“You have to be patient.Sometimes I get angry,but then again.I tell myself these are animals.”
After nine months’ training,the rats were taken to 4 minefield. They ran across the minefield ,stopped, sat and searched the ground to tell the deminers that they smelt out a mine. Then the mine was cleared.It had taken two deminers a day to clear a 200 m2 minefield. But with the help of two rats they could finish it in two hours.
The rats and the deminers saved thousands of lives.“The rats did this job much better than we expected.So far they have helpde to make almost 2.000.000 m2 of land safe.They are heroes.”said Bart Woetjcds.the head of the APOPO.The APOPO trained the rats to search for__.
A.children | B.animals | C.minea | D.bananas |
While training the rats,the trainers have to be __.
A.patient | B.clever | C.brave | D.serious |
How long did the training last?
A.Two hours | B.One day | C.Four weeks | D.Nine month |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE acorrding to the passage?
A.Each day about 200 people were killed or hurt by minea |
B.The APOPO started to train the rats is January 2004. |
C.The trainers gave the rats food after they smelt out a mine . |
D.The rats and the deminres saved thousands of livers. |
When you are about to do something brave, a cheerful wish of “Good luck!” from a friend can be helpful. But if you think you need lots of luck, what else might you do?
In the UK and US there are some strange traditions for bringing yourself a little more good luck. Some are hundreds of years old and some are much newer.
Have you heard the saying “When you wish upon a star”? If you are looking up at the sky on a clear night and you see a sudden flash of light, it is probably a shooting star! Seeing one doesn’t happen very often. The saying goes that if you see one you have been very lucky, and so if you make a wish, it will come true.
Maybe you have heard of the lucky rabbit’s foot. Some people believe that rabbits are lucky animals, so they carry a part of the rabbit, its foot, for good luck. There are all kinds of strange, unclear rules about which of the rabbit’s feet is the luckiest. It is said that this good luck tradition is the oldest one of all. However, as the funny saying goes, “Depend on the rabbit’s foot if you will, but remember it didn’t work for the rabbit!”
People in Britain love trees. If it is autumn and leaves are falling from the trees, some people try to catch the leaves as they fall because they think each leaf they catch will bring them a lucky month in the following year—they will need to catch 12 falling leaves to have a whole of good luck!______ is mentioned in the oldest good luck tradition.
A.A rabbit’s foot |
B.A falling leaf |
C.A cheerful wish from friends |
D.A shooting star |
From Paragraph 3, we know that ______.
A.shooting stars can often be seen |
B.people can see a shooting star on a rainy night |
C.your wish may come true if you see a shooting star |
D.people believe that it’s unlucky to see a shooting star |
British people try to catch 12 falling leaves because ______.
A.the leaves fall in autumn |
B.there are so many leaves to catch |
C.the leaves can bring them a lucky month |
D.they want to have a whole year of good luck |
In Paragraph 5, the underlined word “them” refers to(指)______.
A.trees | B.people | C.leaves | D.years |
The passage is mainly about ______.
A.how to wish upon a star |
B.things that bring good luck |
C.British people love leaves |
D.which of the rabbit’s feet is the luckiest |